Hello everyone, its Penrose Tackie here Gran Turismo, European Brand Manager.
Following the groundbreaking success of the GT Academy last year and as part of our activities around the forthcoming launch of Gran Turismo 5, I am delighted to officially unveil GT Academy 2010. The following is a brief overview of this year’s Academy, but to make sure you’re getting the latest info, make sure you’re following the Facebook fan page.
On 17th December exclusively via the PlayStation store, we will be launching the GT Academy 2010 Time Trial. The time trial will be the only way into this year’s Academy, and if you’ve got what it takes it could be the start of a life-changing journey.
Last year the GT Academy programme unearthed a real driving talent in the form of Lucas Ordonez from Spain, who after winning the GT Academy went on to drive for the Nissan PlayStation race team and take an astonishing second place in the GT4 Championship – all in his first season!
This time around the Academy is even bigger and better, and competition is bound to be pretty fierce – perhaps best of all though for Gran Turismo fans, it will be the first opportunity to get a hands-on taster as to what Yamauchi-san and his Polyphony team have been carefully crafting and polishing at their Tokyo base.
Qualify in the top twenty within your country and you will be invited to a national final event, where you will pit your wits against the best Gran Turismo drivers in the country. If you make it from there only then will you join the elite 20 that will be taken into the GT Academy 2010.
Only the two best drivers will make it out of this 5 day test of nerve and skill. From there will follow an intensive driver training schedule from which we will select our one GT Academy ace.
The time trial features the stunning Nissan 370Z in two guises. Firstly a blisteringly fast, race-tuned monster and secondly an only slightly less fearsome non-tuned version.
The 370Z is the most recent of the new range of cars wearing the famous ‘Z’ brand revived by Japanese manufacturer Nissan. The car has been specially chosen for its challenging but hugely entertaining rear-wheel drive dynamics and the time trial should allow GT novices and veterans alike to get a real idea of what its like to get to grips with this sensational car
To enter the Academy racers will have to post their best overall leaderboard times negotiating a specially created section of a new Gran Turismo 5 circuit. This best time will be a composite of two separate runs – one with the tuned vehicle and the other with the non-tuned version.
You will have the opportunity to keep refining your overall best time from the launch of the demo right up until the close of this time trial stage at 24.00 CET on 24th January 2010.
To give a flavour of what the GT Academy is all about, check out this trailer.
The GT Academy will run in the following countries:
- UK
- Ireland
- France
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Germany
- Austria
- Denmark
- Norway
- Finland
- Sweden
- Spain
- Portugal
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Australia
- New Zealand
However gamers in countries not mentioned on the list need not fear as there will be a special Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Challenge for them to get to grips with it, too.
If you want to keep up to date with what’s happening with GT5 and the GT Academy 2010 keep checking back on the PlayStation.Blog and also check out the following links.
www.gran-turismo.com
www.facebook.com/GTAcademy
www.twitter.com/GTAcademy
GT fans get ready to start your engines!
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80 CommentsAdd Yours
51
Posted on 3 December, 2009 at 6:03 pm by bigbjorn1
Ok nice, i can’t wait
52
Posted on 3 December, 2009 at 6:19 pm by Rude_Sparthan
..OH MY GOD…!!!! I can’t believe…!! this is just I dream……. thanks thanks and thanks again!!
53
Posted on 3 December, 2009 at 6:28 pm by MobileTone
-meh- it’s just going to be one of those driving license test courses like we got in GT4/GT:PSP. i’m not going to get excited over that, not like you’re letting us have a full track to race on or anything is it?
according to Kaz-san at Polyphony Digital, we’re not getting GT5 in March thanks to SCEA holding the title back so it doesn’t clash with all the other games coming out in March 2010. pathetic!
54
Posted on 3 December, 2009 at 8:35 pm by Negduke
Suppose it is better than nothing, if it is being delayed just so it doesn’t clash with other titles then they may lose some peoples interest in it anyway. Not me though
55
Posted on 3 December, 2009 at 9:10 pm by Laze
The http://www.gran-turismo.com link is broken.
56
Posted on 3 December, 2009 at 11:26 pm by GT4genius
Is the Irish Time Trial on its own or joined to the UK? Would be great if it was on its own but I’m not sure we’d even get much more than 20 clean good laps!
57
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 4:37 am by patokite91
hi, thx to give us gt accademy again ^^
i have something to ask…
if I play this time trial off-line, when i log in the times will be uploaded?
58
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 7:25 am by muzzar69
wait Australia gets a shot at this?
someone get me a icy towel im going to faint.
i was thinking the other day, since the top gear track is in the game it would be really cool if there was the stigs times for each of the cars in the game.
that way we can take them out, and try and see how close to his times we can get.
heh, maybe im a F1 driver after all
59
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 9:56 am by whoismilan
Wooohooo, great news!
Gran Turismo is just about the biggest reason why I bought a PS3, and obviously I am really glad to see that Polyphony Digital isn’t ignoring the European market the way most are.
60
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 10:38 am by GEORGE_GR33
There are 17 countries and 20 national winners.
Are the other 3 from the rest of europian countries?
61
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 11:21 am by Apnomis
Just spotted that the Americans are getting their own version of this competition so they can try out the new GT5 physics too (even Canada is included!). I’m looking forward to sampling the improvements they’ve made, but I’m not bothered about winning the competition (not that I have any chance of getting into the top 20 if I did!).
I may be being cynical here, but I can’t help but wonder if the shoe was on the other foot and it was SCEA with an exclusive GT Academy promotion, would SCEE have been so quick to jump on their bandwagon and ensure they get a piece of the action for their customers on the same release date? I fear the answer we would have got if it was the other way around would have been “This is a SCEA promotion that SCEE have no control over, we appreciate our customers would like to try the time trial and we will look into bringing it over here at some point in 2010″.
To those from other Countries that are complaining (as usual) there is no need to be upset – EVERYONE will get the demo and everyone can compete at being the best in their Country, the only thing some people don’t get is a chance to become a real race driver as the top prize…
62
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 1:56 pm by Ian0910
Nice! really looking forward to this!
I love my PS3
63
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 2:19 pm by Leaphart3
Hi Penrose. I love the GT Academy concept. I wanted to introduce Revolution Racing. We are the NASCAR Drive for Diversity team. Using our racing assets and marketing platforms, we have created a dream to reality concept entitled “The Longshot” that has similarities to your program. Since GT5 has NASCAR components, I’d love to connect with your Brand Manager USA and discuss the potential. – Wade Leaphart
64
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 3:42 pm by my3dh4
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
that’s great
65
Posted on 4 December, 2009 at 7:05 pm by DoX9779
I can see people here crying about GT academy participating countries – no Greece, Poland, etc… And that’s probably not right, I agree.
But you people from the mentioned countries still can access PS Store and download this Time Trial demo. And you are lucky here
We here in Croatia cannot even access PS Store. That means no demos, nor any other free stuff. And PS3 sells very good here. Games also. And most people have broadband connection in their home.
As for the new games, pay 70€ (yes, 70€!!!) and hope that you will like the game. We here never get the chance to try it before.
I just hope that our money is good just like anybody else’s.
And I will certainly buy GT 5. At least there is no doubt that it’ll be blockbuster.
66
Posted on 5 December, 2009 at 2:44 am by ootenaaten
Congradulations to all who compete in the GT Academy 2010. I am looking forward to this small bit of GT5 early, for my gt collection. To the Academy winner who ever it will be. When you picked up your first copy of Gran Turismo did ya ever think it would lead to this.
67
Posted on 5 December, 2009 at 2:31 pm by Hentis
“To the Academy winner who ever it will be. When you picked up your first copy of Gran Turismo did ya ever think it would lead to this.” – To the Academy winner who ever it will be. When you picked up your first copy of Gran Turismo did ya ever think it would lead to this.
Never in a million years. I would like tot hank the following…. err hold on.
Ok well I’ll download the demo and then well will partake in the time trial but wont get anywhere. Congratulations in advance to the eventual winner. Whoever that will be.
68
Posted on 5 December, 2009 at 2:32 pm by Hentis
“To the Academy winner who ever it will be. When you picked up your first copy of Gran Turismo did ya ever think it would lead to this.” – Posted on 5 December, 2009 at 2:44 am by ootenaaten
Never in a million years. I would like tot hank the following…. err hold on.
Ok well I’ll download the demo and then well will partake in the time trial but wont get anywhere. Congratulations in advance to the eventual winner. Whoever that will be.
69
Posted on 5 December, 2009 at 8:16 pm by GT-R32_Skyline
This is good news didn’t own a PS3 yet last time GT Academy ran will definitely participate in this
70
Posted on 7 December, 2009 at 12:42 am by radioactive_war
Could you please Mr Penrose Tackie tell me if GT5 will be compatible with the D-BOX gaming motion platform?
Sorry i realise this is off topic but i got to know if you have any plans in the future to have compatability.
71
Posted on 7 December, 2009 at 9:33 am by wiktorclunk
No Poland
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
72
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 10:21 am by MickeyDnz
New Zealand! YES!!!! Hahaha
73
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 3:48 pm by Yannick
@Penrose Tackie
that’s great, at last a GT5 demo in our hands! i wanted a GT5Prologue SpecIV update for christmas but will get this demo instead, that’s not so bad after all.
74
Posted on 8 December, 2009 at 8:04 pm by radioactive_war
“D-BOX”
WILL GT5 BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE D-BOX MOTION GAMING PLATFORM???
ARE THERE ANY PLANS FOR COMPATABILITY IN THE NEAR FUTURE???
75
Posted on 16 December, 2009 at 7:56 pm by redmond1994
Cmon ireland
76
Posted on 17 December, 2009 at 2:44 pm by scor1970
Hello Mr. Penrose.
Will it be possible for those who have NAT Type 3 to play or not.
Thx
77
Posted on 18 December, 2009 at 1:58 pm by QuickNick101
Yeah Lucas Ordenez won it last year, I met him at Nissan Race Academy at Silverstone for customers.
Found this online clip of him chatting with Rob Barff, the instructor from last year GTA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQuPVaRK9QY
78
Posted on 18 December, 2009 at 9:45 pm by MS_81
No sound
(
79
Posted on 19 December, 2009 at 7:41 pm by DaveBisto
I thought it was just my setup! Where is the sound in this demo, can anyone help?
80
Posted on 25 December, 2009 at 3:51 pm by PR1VATEJ0KER
Do you have to use a wheel in gt academy or can you use a controller?
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